Color Combo Swap

I have been participating in a Color Combo swap for almost a year. Each month we were given 2 colors and had to create a 4x4 inch page. We sent our pages to our hostess and then received pages from other players in return.

As I said, this has been going on for almost a year so I have quite a few pages lying around waiting to be put into book form.

I had no idea what I wanted to do for a cover until this month's issue of Digital Scrapbooking came. Now I have said before that I do not do scrapbooking! But the tutorials for digital art are really great.

The tutorial I used was to learn how to add photos or patterned paper to the inside of your letters. Thus I created the word COLOR below. That was actually the word they used in the tutorial as well, it just happens that I needed it too!

I can't wait too see how this whole project looks as one whole book!

Altered Postcard Swap

The Bad Babies Yahoo group is having another swap. Well, we pretty much have swaps going on at all times but you just can't do them all!

This one is an altered postcard swap. There are 15 players. You alter a postcard for each player. The postcard has to be from where you are living right now.

I live in Oregon. But not some touristy part, just a run of the mill, small town with nothing going on. But for some reason this swap really called to me.

The swap was announced on July 16. As soon as I got done working I ran to the grocery store (the only place in town that sell postcards), browsed through the 3 or 4 designs they had and was totally taken with this one. I knew as soon as I saw it what I wanted to do. I knew what stamp I was going to use. Now I just had to ignore the weird look from the check out clerk (who knows I just live around the corner) as I bought 15 of the same card.

That night I sanded all the cards diagonally both from the right and the left so it made a cross-hatch design on the surface. I then rubbed Tim Holtz Distress Inks over the surface. First Scattered Straw, then Tea Dye and finally Walnut Stain. I then let them rest over night.

The next day I stamped the woman. She is from All Night Media. I made her look a bit more haggard than she really is by darkening her cheeks and adding a stroke of gray under each eye. Traveling across the country was no picnic!

Then off to the internet for the covered wagon and postage stamp. And finally I printed the supply list, which I found at http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/Supplies.htm , onto transparency film.

I wanted to depict a "historical" postcard. I am facinated by the trek those pioneers made across the country to settle here. My husband's family made that journey. So hard to believe people could endure so much!

On July 18 I glued them all together, finished up the backs and had them packaged for mailing. I don't think I have EVER completed a swap so fast!

The Black Ball Returns

I haven't done any of the altered balls (the ones I got from work...see previous posts) in quite some time. Well, I did one tonight for a friend that is coming to visit.

Then it dawned on me as I sat watching the vanish dry (yeah, it is that exciting here!) I never posted pictures of the ball I submitted to Rubberstampmadness magazine.

The theme was "Numbers". You had to use numbers in your artwork. I created a ball with a vintage school days theme and there are definitely numbers visible.

I emailed them photos, they emailed me back asking for more and telling me they loved it.

The issue came out a month ago.....no altered ball. Am I bitter? I guess not LOL I am a bit disappointed though. Especially since they made a point of asking for more pics. Oh well.

But, since they didn't want it, I can now share it with all of you.

I covered the ball with pages torn from a novel I am using for an altered book. (again, see previous posts) Once the entire ball was covered, I brushed on antiquing gel to darken it.

I stamped images on printer paper and a few on tissue. All images are from Oxford Impressions. I then applied these with Mod Podge (which my husband informed me tonight as I was sealing my project that it "stinks to high heaven" LOL)

By stamping on tissue paper it almost appears that those images are stamped directly on the ball.

So this ball now sits proudly on the jelly cupboard in my diningroom. It is my favorite of all the ones I have made.

Ink Blots

I have been feeling kind of down lately and that really locks up the creative juices. I decided to try to get things flowing again with a little experiment.

First I got out the black paint and made some "ink blots". The idea was, once they were dry I had to turn them into something.

The first one came out pretty good. The next 2 are currently on their way to the land fill LOL

Below is the first "blot".
I turned it into a fancy hairdo or is it a hat? :-) I want to use her in a collage. I just haven't had time yet to gather up all those fashion pictures I have stashed away.....somewhere.

I have at least 5 more blots on hand so if I ever get around to making them into something else I will get them posted.